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Movies & TV

26th Mar 2021

The Witcher: Blood Origin casts Irish actor Laurence O’Fuarain in major role

Stephen Porzio

The Witcher

The showrunner on the series is also Irish.

Irish actor Laurence O’Fuarain has been cast in a major role in Netflix’s upcoming prequel to their hit fantasy show The Witcher.

The Witcher: Blood Origin is a six-part live-action limited series set in an elven world 1,200 years before the original.

Netflix says Blood Origin will tell the story of “the creation of the first prototype Witcher, and the events that lead to the pivotal ‘conjunction of the spheres,’ when the worlds of monsters, men, and elves merged to become one”.

Dublin man O’Fuarain (pictured below) will play Fjall, a character Netflix describe as being born into a clan of warriors who are sworn to protect a king.

However, Fjall carries a deep scar within, the death of a loved one who fell in battle trying to save him.

Netflix says: “In his quest for redemption, Fjall will find himself fighting beside the most unlikely of allies as he carves a path of vengeance across a continent in turmoil.”

O’Fuarain is joining the previously cast Jodie Turner-Smith (Queen & Slim, Without Remorse) in the show.

She will play Éile, an elite warrior blessed with the voice of a goddess who has left her clan and position as Queen’s guardian to follow her heart as a nomadic musician.

However, a grand reckoning on the continent forces her to return to the way of the blade in her quest for vengeance and redemption.

Waterford native Declan de Barra (Iron Fist, The Originals) will act as showrunner, while Andrzej Sapkowski – who wrote the books The Witcher shows are based on – will serve as creative consultant.

O’Fuarain’s TV credits include Game of Thrones, Into the Badlands, Red Rock and Vikings, while he has also had roles in films such as Black 47 and The Secret Scripture.